Manipulation of solid, semi-solid or liquid materials
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of promoting a desired reaction between particles suspended in a liquid, said method comprising steps of:
- applying, at a first frequency, a first non-uniform electrical field to a region of said liquid from an electrode array; and
applying, at a second frequency, a second non-uniform electrical field to said region of said liquid from said electrode array substantially simultaneously with said application of said first non-uniform electrical field, said second non-uniform field being independent of said first non-uniform electrical field;
said first non-uniform electrical field and said second non-uniform electrical field promoting said desired reaction using dielectrophoretic forces on said particles; and
at least one of said first frequency and said second frequency being chosen to effect a negative dielectrophoretic force on only some of said particles suspended in said liquid.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
By applying two or more electrical fields (DC, AC, pulsed) of different characteristics to an electrode array on e.g. the wall of a treatment cell, particles suspended in liquid in the cell may be manipulated as desired on a microscopic scale, in particular by exploiting the dielectrophoretic properties of the particles. The particles may be solid, semi-solid or liquid, and may be of simple materials or may be biological particles such as whole cells or fragments thereof.
-
Citations
22 Claims
-
1. A method of promoting a desired reaction between particles suspended in a liquid, said method comprising steps of:
-
applying, at a first frequency, a first non-uniform electrical field to a region of said liquid from an electrode array; and applying, at a second frequency, a second non-uniform electrical field to said region of said liquid from said electrode array substantially simultaneously with said application of said first non-uniform electrical field, said second non-uniform field being independent of said first non-uniform electrical field; said first non-uniform electrical field and said second non-uniform electrical field promoting said desired reaction using dielectrophoretic forces on said particles; and at least one of said first frequency and said second frequency being chosen to effect a negative dielectrophoretic force on only some of said particles suspended in said liquid. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A method of promoting a desired reaction between particles suspended in a liquid, said method comprising steps of:
-
applying, at a first frequency, a first non-uniform electrical field to a region of said liquid from an electrode array; and superimposing, at a second frequency, a second non-uniform electrical field to said region of said liquid from said electrode array substantially simultaneously with said application of said first non-uniform electrical field, said second frequency being different from said first frequency, said second non-uniform field being independent of said first non-uniform electrical field; wherein said first non-uniform electrical field and said second non-uniform electrical field promote said desired reaction using dielectrophoretic forces on said particles.
-
-
13. A method of promoting a desired reaction between particles suspended in said liquid, said method comprising steps of:
-
introducing a volume of said liquid, including said suspended particles, into a treatment cell provided with electrodes; applying a first electrical signal to said electrodes to generate a redistribution of said particles under an effect of a first dielectrophoretic force; applying, simultaneously with said first electrical signal, a second electrical signal to said electrodes, a frequency of said second electrical signal being different from a frequency of said first electrical signal, wherein said frequency of said second electrical signal is chosen taking into account a dielectric constant and electrical conductivity of said particles and said liquid to produce a second dielectrophoretic force acting on said particles, said second dielectrophoretic force being different from said first dielectrophoretic force. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. A method of promoting a desired reaction between particles suspended in a liquid, said particles including first particles and second particles, said method comprising steps of:
-
introducing a volume of said liquid, including said suspended particles, into a treatment cell provided with electrodes; applying, at a first frequency, a first electrical signal to said electrodes to generate a redistribution of positions of said particles under an effect of a first dielectrophoretic force; applying, at a second frequency different from said first frequency, while said particles occupy said redistribution of positions, a second electrical signal to said electrodes, said second frequency being chosen taking into account a dielectric constant and electrical conductivity of said particles and said liquid to produce a second dielectrophoretic force acting on said particles, one of said first and second electrical signals acting to apply a negative dielectrophoretic force on only said first particles, and the other of said first and second electrical signals acting to apply only one of a negative dielectrophoretic force and a positive dielectrophoretic force on both said first particles and said second particles. - View Dependent Claims (20)
-
-
21. A method of promoting a desired reaction between particles suspended in a liquid, said particles including first particles and second particles, said method comprising steps of:
-
introducing a volume of said liquid, including said suspended particles, into a treatment cell provided with electrodes; applying, at a first frequency, a first electrical signal to said electrodes to generate a redistribution of positions of said particles under an effect of a first dielectrophoretic force acting on said first particles and said second particles, said first dielectrophoretic force being one of a positive dielectrophoretic force and a negative dielectrophoretic force; applying, at a second frequency different from said first frequency, while said particles occupy said redistribution of positions, a second electrical signal to said electrodes, said second frequency being chosen taking into account a dielectric constant and electrical conductivity of said particles and said liquid to produce a second dielectrophoretic force acting on said particles, said second dielectrophoretic force being a positive dielectrophoretic force acting on one of said first particles and said second particles, and said second dielectrophoretic force being a negative dielectrophoretic force acting on the other of said first particles and said second particles. - View Dependent Claims (22)
-
Specification